mongster's nest

- disturbing fantasies, traumatic verses, definitely mongrel thoughts

The Other Filipinos

Many Filipinos are not aware of the varied local cultures which thrive in the Philippine countryside. In fact, it may not be surprising anymore to learn that there are teenagers who can decide if they are kapuso or kapamilya but totally ignorant of their ethnic origins. It’s not just historical amnesia that plagues our youth but also the failure to appreciate our rich cultural heritage.

There are 110 ethnolinguistic groups in the country which could reach up to 10-12 million of the population. Most indigenous peoples or IP are in areas classified as public domain. Ancestral domains refer to hunting grounds, burial grounds, worship areas, bodies of water, mineral and other natural resources and lands occupied, possessed and utilized by IP communities since time immemorial. More than half of these communities are to be found in Mindanao.

The tribal communities which resisted Spanish and American colonization are now called ethnic minorities. They were the brave inhabitants of the Philippine islands whose resistance to foreign invaders enabled them to preserve their unique customs.

Let me enumerate some of the indigenous peoples of the country.

Negritos are present in northeastern, central and southern Luzon, Visayas islands and northeastern Mindanao. The most famous are the Aetas but other Negritos include the Agta, Agay, Ata, Ati, Batak, Dumagat, Remontado, Ebukid, Sambal, Mamanwa and Umayamnon. The Atis are the original residents of the world-famous Boracay Island.

It is incorrect to name all native inhabitants of the Cordillera and Caraballo Mountain Ranges in northern Luzon as Igorots. They should be distinguished as Ifugao, Kankana-ey, Ibaloi, Kalanguya, Kalinga and Tingguian.

The Mangyan group is composed of the Hanunuo, Buhid, Tadyawan, Iraya, Gubatnun; Alangan and Tau-Buhid. Other island groups include the Tagbanwa, Batak, Palaw’an, Molbog, Ken-uy, Ati, Sulodnon, Bukidnon and Kiniray-a. The indigenous peoples of Mindanao are called Lumads. Some of these ethnic groups belong to Higaonon, Manobo, Bagobo, B’laan, Mandaya, T’boli, Mansaka, Teduray, Subanen, Manguanguanon and Mamanwa.

Islamic Peoples used to inhabit most of Mindanao and Palawan. When we refer to Filipino Muslims, we are actually talking of 14 tribes: Sama Dilaut, Sama Jengeng, Badjao, Molbog, Jama Mapun, Maguindanao, Maranao, Tausug, Yakan, Sangil, Samal and Kaagan.

IP communities are either under threat of extinction or confronting subhuman conditions. According to the Stavenhagen Report in 2002, “human development indicators in IP communities are lower and poverty indicators are higher than those of the rest of society.” There are only 650 remaining Casiguranen-Agta in the northern Sierra Madre.

Gandelan Artiso A. Mandawa of the National Anti-Poverty Commission blames environmental degradation and development aggression as the major threats to IP communities. Less than a million hectares of forest are left in the country. This also means the loss of the IP way of life. Development aggression projects like dams, logging and commercial plantations not only destroy forestlands, they also displace IP communities.

Perhaps the greatest threat to upland tribes is the government’s current obsession to extract super profits from the country’s mineral wealth. In Palawan, there are more than a hundred mining applications. Expanded legal mining activities do not recognize the traditional ownership rights of IP communities over ancestral domains. Human rights violations occur when IP communities assert their right to oppose the entry of large-scale development projects. The exaggerated ‘war on terror’ of the government also threatens the peace talks with the Moro separatists.

Poverty has worsened in the country, but the situation is more alarming in the highlands. Some of our IP tribes are migrating to the cities. Some became beggars and prostitutes. Some were used to provide shallow entertainment for ignorant city dwellers.

In 1997 the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act (IPRA) was signed into law. It respects the “traditional resource management practices of IP communities and defines a process of recovery of lost ancestral domains.” But the law, aside from encountering the usual bureaucratic and insufficient funding issue, is in conflict with other land laws like the Mining Act and Agrarian Reform Law. There were ancestral domains which were also classified as agrarian and mining areas. Government should harmonize and resolve conflicting land claims. Ten years of IPRA did not enhance protection for IP communities. IPRA proved to be useless as government allowed big companies, including foreigners, to exploit land resources and privatize ancestral domains.

We should ditch the dangerous thinking that the Philippines should be managed as a Christian nation ruled by Tagalog leaders. This is arrogant, irrational and insensitive. We should teach the value of multiculturalism to our kids. We should not forget that the IP communities were among the original ‘majority’ groups of the Philippine islands. They became the ‘minority’ when they did not acquiesce to the unjust authority of the foreign invaders. We should exert our utmost will to prevent IP communities from being extinct.

Related entries:

The Other Radicals
Preserve Mineral Wealth
Imperial Manila

Two years ago in Mongster's Nest: I wrote about the wealthy and powerful religious leaders of the country. I also discussed my one year stint as radio host. I expressed my opposition over the DepEd-Coke textbook deal. I uploaded my first youngblood article. A tribute for Raul Roco. And lastly, Raul Gonzales deserves to be locked at the Ward 7 of PGH.

Random pictures from my photoblog.

posted by: mongpalatino at August 24, 2007 23:59 | link | comments (1) |
nation

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#1  05 September 2007 - 10:30

 

This is to do with Indigenous Peoples and their Creation Myth
as told by the supreme court
Laughable Textbook Errors in Crucial Supreme Court Decisions

Anonymous

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